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[panic_azimuth]

I'm finally back on an internet connection that doesn't block the word "Update" in URLs, so I can once again spew my thoughts out onto teh interwebs. I'm working on month eleven of this deployment, which is nice, cause I've finally passed up the two-thirds mark. In addition to this good news, next month (actually in about three weeks,) I'll be

Comments

[coercedbynutmeg]

Ah see, this is how the food companies get new customers. Give them delicious candy while they are scared or agitated and they'll be yours for life.

And you're right, more than a year is absolutely ridiculous to spend at war at a time, and a three-week R&R doesn't count as off time.

[panic_azimuth]

Yeah, they don't even manage three full weeks. It's just 18 days. They used to count the first and last days as full leave days, even though it's when you flew...now at least they give us those as travel days. The current thought is "Here, soldiers, spend THREE EXTRA MONTHS gettng rocketed at every goddamn day, and in return we'll give you three extra days of leave and make a bunch of promises about extra leave and pay you'll never see." Great. Then they wonder why junior officers are positively FLEEING the Army, and offer bizarre incentives such as "We'll send you to grad school for ONE YEAR(?!?!?!) in exchange for four more years of service!" Wow, $35,000 worth of grad school for an ENORMOUS extension. I'll have an MBA and hopefully make twice what I do now inside of that four years if I just get out instead. I know I'm ranting, but it drives me nuts. They ask a fucking lot of the military these days and don't seem to get why people don't want to spend five extra years in, with three deployments on top of the two I already

[coercedbynutmeg]

Yeah, I hear this a lot from people in other branches (esp Marines, around here). You get one year's worth of base pay as a bonus for signing on for several more years. It would be a good deal if it were a normal-hour working job, but this 18-hours-a-day everyday thing is ridiculous. Jason was ready to throw in the towel after his last sea command, but he stuck it out because he can't get out until the end of this year anyway.

Of course his assignment will run until 2010 and this one is practically a 9-5 job (actually 730-1600), so he'll forget how crappy life on a ship can be and we'll go to another one! I suppose while under fire in Afghanistan you don't forget how grueling it is.

[panic_azimuth]

Yeah, the hours are definitely the worst part. The worst was garrison, before deployment...we'd work from 0430-2000 routinely, which was just utterly insane, considering we weren't doing anything productive half the time. Dinner was like a half-way point in the day. That just solidified my desire to get out...I NEVER saw Lizz and half the times I'd get home at a decent time I would just get called back in to work at 2000 or 2030. We both have vivid memories of the night I got home, started making dinner (at 2100) and got called back in, and was there for two more hours for some moronic paperwork thing that wasn't a priority at all. I'm totally done with the military, it's time for an end to the bullshit.

[iamjimpaine]

godspeed and stay safe.

[panic_azimuth]

Thanks man....it's all pretty quiet here. Every now and then the Taliban forget how badass we are and pay for it, but in general, nichts neues.